MTV managed to catch up with actor Joseph Gordon Levitt, who’s rumored to play the role of Tetsuo.

When asked about the rumor, Levitt responded, “That just goes to show what you can believe about what people write about movies. I love the movie ‘Akira.’ I still have yet to read the manga, but that’s really just a rumor. They don’t have a script or anything.”

I was in Chicago back in April and if you ask me that's where they should make this. From the Skyway the view of the city looks just like Neo-Tokyo, and the Skyway would be a great place for the opening motorcycle race.

According to the trades, Warner Bros. will turn anime artist Katsuhiro Otomo's six-volume graphic novel "Akira" into two live-action feature films, the first of which is being fast tracked for release in summer 2009. Each feature will be based on three of the books in Otomo's series. The story takes place in New Manhattan, a metropolis that was rebuilt after being destroyed 31 years earlier.

Dr. Strangefist is a huge fan of the 1988 anime and recently took a look at the script by Gary Whitta. He chimes in with his thoughts below

Casey Seijas wrote:“We’re waiting for the final draft of the script [for 'Akira'],” DiCaprio told MTV. “I’m a big fan of Japanese anime — that and another project called ‘Ninja Scroll’ we’re trying to get developed and made into a movie, and I know there a lot of loyal fans out there of the project and die-hard fans, so we’re going to try to do the best job we possibly can and we’re not going to make the movie until the script is in the right shape.”

However, for those of you out there hoping to see DiCaprio on Kaneda’s souped up motorcycle in “Akira” or munching on rice balls a la Jubei Kibagami in “Ninja Scroll,” don’t hold your breath. When asked about what his role will be in these properties, DiCaprio made it clear that he’d be producing, and as for as any interest in acting: “No, not really,” he responded.

Mix Otomo's original vision (update it somewhat) with Timur Bekmambetov's cinematic visions and I'd love to see this movie made.I'm not sure what my earlier thoughts were in this thread, but after seeing Nightwatch, Daywatch, and Wanted, I love Timur Bekmambetov's style and think it work for Akira.

New Tokyo, New Manhattan, New Reykjavik.... doesn't matter to me. Just keep Otomo involved.

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Casey Seijas wrote:MTV managed to catch up with actor Joseph Gordon Levitt, who’s rumored to play the role of Tetsuo.

When asked about the rumor, Levitt responded, “That just goes to show what you can believe about what people write about movies. I love the movie ‘Akira.’ I still have yet to read the manga, but that’s really just a rumor. They don’t have a script or anything.”

“You never know,” said the “500 Days of Summer” star with a coy smile when asked if the project was truly dead. Though not quite a confirmation of anything, it’s a far-cry from his comments last year which didn’t acknowledge any connection to the project whatsoever.

It sounds like they don't want to be tied to a franchise, or something that the company will want insane ammount of input on.

If Leo's company is willing to let the Huges make their movie and it jives with Otomo then why not. I still think the move to Neo-Manhattan is past stupid, but if they take this movie seriously, don't spare expenses, and make it a movie first and a franchise last why not.

I do hope they make the whole magna though, and not just a remake of the original film.

Akira is still moving forward. They just hired a new writer and they’re conceptualizing right now. He also says WB management loves the property and the studio is very enthusiastic about the project. Confirms the first movie would be volumes 1-3 and a second movie would be 4-6

Pre-Astronauts talk – Says it’s now called One Finger Salute. Calls it The Right Stuff before The Right Stuff. Says it’s about a group of Air Force scientists and pilots that believe man can go to space and survive. Also says they did a table read last year with Tom Cruise, Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, and Elizabeth Banks! Peter Segal is scheduled to direct. He’s not sure if they can get all those cast members.

You know, that could either be great casting or genius casting. I say that because I only know Efron from the High School Musical stuff, which I've never seen and likely never will. But he's someone I really don't care to see simply because I couldn't stand the hype of all the HSM stuff. So perhaps Efron really does have some great acting chops and could be the perfect person for the movie. Or maybe he's really just a chump and will be another reason the project fails.

If that makes any sense.

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The main thing to take away from all of these casting rumours, right now, is a sense that the film is being driven ahead. It looks very much like, after several years worth of false starts, there is really about to be a live-action adaptation of Otomo’s Akira.

Jonathan Landreth wrote:Three Hollywood producers who've made hit films derived from Japanese content shared a roadmap to crossover success in the lucrative U.S. entertainment market at the American Film Market on Wednesday.

Swell Dude, producer of the smash hit Transformers films, Roy Lee, whose Vertigo Entertainment produced the horror remakes The Ring and The Grudge, and Jason Hoffs of Viz Prods., a unit of Japanese animation publisher Viz Media, laid out insights into discovering how Japanese content can serve as inspiration.

Introduced by Tokuyuki Sudo, the executive vp of the Japan External Trade Organization, and grilled by Joyce Jun, an L.A. attorney who brokers deals between Hollywood and Japan, the three panelists spoke about new Japanese creations including those from sources other than movies, television and anime -- such as toys, games and the serial comics known as manga.

"Because of a manga's weekly installments and their episodic form, there's usually a powerful bond between the readers and the characters," a recipe for possible success, Hoffs said.

Murphy, who reminisced fondly about growing up on Long Island in the 1970s watching the Japanese cartoons Speed Racer and Gigantor on television, agreed that big in Japan could translate into big in America. "It was weird stuff, but so cool," he said.

Murphy cautioned, however, that longevity and character and story development are more important than merchandising. After all, he said, there were 100 hours of Transformers TV programming before U.S. toymaker Hasbro bought the rights to make the Japanese robot-car characters into toys.

"If it's just a movie based on a toy, you could end up with something like the Stretch Armstrong movie," said Murphy, referring to a forthcoming film that's drawn some skeptical attention as it's based on another Hasbro toy from the 1970s that had no TV series behind it.

Once you've found the right story, deals with Japanese license holders can take some time, said Lee, who has a first-look deal with Warner Bros. "The biggest Hollywood studio complaint is that these things can take one to two years and have to go through multiple committees in Japan," before they get licensed, he said.

Part of the reason for the sluggish pace, Hoffs said, is the Japanese understanding of chain of title, or ownership of a given property, especially since many Japanese contracts have complex financing structures.

"It's important to understand how the other side sees things." Hoffs said. "Often most rights land with the manga creator. The devil's in the details and it's important to find out what's most important to the content owner – loyalty to the original, or money."

Lee, who also produced the Antarctic sled dog adventure Eight Below for Walt Disney, said "the good news is that some contracts for films that have been successful are now serving as templates, cutting time to licensing and production to about six months."

Speed is key with the U.S. studios looking at remakes, Lee said, noting that the high turnover in Hollywood's executive ranks means that once a Japanese title is licensed the exec who green lit it might already have left.

Also slowing things down is the cultural and linguistic divide between America and Japan, Murphy said, noting that after months of trying to get the rights to Japanese video game Otome for Guillermo Del Toro to direct, he finally gave up. "Yes means no and no means no and sometimes maybe means no, too. It's very polite but sometimes you just need an answer. Make sure the content holder actually wants to sell."

Having somebody like discussion moderator Jun, a Japanese-speaking attorney at Katten Muchin Rosenman, on your side can help, Murphy said: "Unless you're going to learn their language -- and you can't expect them to learn yours -- then an intermediary is key."

For her part, Jun said that Japanese companies were lucky to have three such Hollywood producers looking to buy their content. "The interesting marriage of reserved Japanese creators and aggressive table-banging U.S. producers can be quite productive," she said. "Those are the producers who are going to get your films made."

I looked back through this thread and realized I hadn't said this here yet, so here it goes:

I get that there are lots of stories that are universal, such as stories about kicking ass or finding love. I'm fine with remakes and Americanizations, they can lead to good stuff like Fistful of Dollars if there is a cultural equivilant such as how the cowboy is the American samurai or Clint Eastwood is the American Toshiro Mifune. But I just don't think there is such a thing for Akira in any culture other than Japan. It's not just a story set in Japan, it is about Japan on every level. It's part of a long line of Japanese sci-fi movies going back to Godzilla that tap into Japan's national psyche as re-shaped by the bombing of Hiroshima.

Akira is about a culture that was once warriors but got devasted by such a huge force that ever since then they have been pacifists with a conflicting obsession with, and fear of, technology. Does that really sound like America in any way to anybody? Does America have true pacifists? I mean, you get James Cameron from the more pacifistic North American country of Canada to make his idea of a left-wing peacenik movie, Avatar, and it still ends up being about kicking the shit out of your enemy.

I know the Hughes Bros are smart guys who make message-driven movies, so I really wonder what their message will be in Akira. It can't be about reminding people of the costs of taking technology and power too far like the original film. So what's it going to be? Another failed blockbuster that tries to preach about the potential cost of our abuse of the environment? Do you really want to add your film to a list that includes The Happening, The Day The Earth Stood Still Remake, or most relevantly, the American Godzilla film?

They are currently re-issuing the comic books and I have been amassing them. The series will be fully re-published by summer next year. I have yet to read them, but from what I hear the multi-strained epic story of the film was only a small portion of zillion-strained mega-epic of the comic books. So maybe there is another plotline or perspective from which this story can work in America. But if they try to go for anything like the original film, I just don't see it resonating.

I see lots of movies that I expect to be pieces of shit. Usually I'm pretty happy to go in and laugh at the trainwreck, but this film is one of the few that will be on my morbid curiosity viewing list.

In real life Freeman was in the air force, so him doing some piloting, even at an old age, isn't that far-fetched but I just keep picturing some corny Airwolf moment complete with a freezeframe shot of Freeman giving a thumbs up and winking from inside a helicopter cockpit. Or some sort of Flying Miss Daisy thing just starts playing in my head.

I don't know this Zac Efron. I know who he is, but I've never seen him act. I've also never heard anybody actually call him a bad actor, they just keep bringing up that he's famous from some cheesy Disney movies.

I dunno, didn't everybody in the anime just walk all over the Colonel? The politicians all sidelined him, that scientist guy disobeyed him, the three nuclear kids were never under his control? Didn't eveybody just see him as a tool they could easily manipulate or ignore? I guess SE7EN is the only time I can think of where other characters really disrespected Morgan Freeman and even then it was more because they found him a pompous intellectual and they were macho cops. But for the most part it's hard to imagine a movie where Freeman's natural gravitas just gets completely ignored by all the other characters. I always feel like every time Freeman opens his mouth everybody goes quiet and listens and assumes he's wise. Wisdom and temperance are the only things I see Freeman's persona having in common with the colonel character. Freeman plays the moral centre of lots of movies, but just not usually the underestimated variety.

I think most people can name a couple dozen actors who can better fill that role of an intellectually underestimated army guy and who are at least closer to the age range this character should probably be in (like mid 40s to mid 50s). I guess I just think of more of a Bruce Willis guy, but there are loads of other options. One thing I liked in the anime was the characters strapping physique was a good juxtaposition to his lack power. Watching a big strapping guy with an army behind him get pushed around by little weak old politicians and little kids seemed like part of the film's theme of deceptive strength and where true power lies etc.

I dunno, maybe Hughes has something different in mind for this character and hopefully that script review is of a different draft. There are things you could do to taylor the role to Freeman's strengths, but making it a more physical role is definately not one of them.

Spandau Belly wrote:I dunno, maybe Hughes has something different in mind for this character and hopefully that script review is of a different draft. There are things you could do to taylor the role to Freeman's strengths, but making it a more physical role is definately not one of them.

Agreed. Plus, the guy does have "pain behind his eyes" down cold.

Although, after seeing him in RED, I can see him throwing a few well placed jabs and haymakers if the situation were to arise.

Spandau Belly wrote:One thing I liked in the anime was the characters strapping physique was a good juxtaposition to his lack power. Watching a big strapping guy with an army behind him get pushed around by little weak old politicians and little kids seemed like part of the film's theme of deceptive strength and where true power lies etc.

If I remember correctly, he and the army behind him pushed the poltiticians aound too, military coup and everything.

Yeah, but his coup is the big push back. They take advantage of his sense of duty and belief in the chain of command and walk all over him. Up until that point and only when he's faced with being made a complete Patsy does he actually fight the politicians, and even then it's already too late to prevent Tetsuo's rampage from reaching its apex.